diff --git a/src/FileUtils.h b/src/FileUtils.h
index ff7afdb..1ae3436 100644
--- a/src/FileUtils.h
+++ b/src/FileUtils.h
@@ -3,8 +3,10 @@
 #include <exception>
 #include <string>
 
+#include "Platform.h"
 #include "StringUtils.h"
 
+
 /** A set of functions for performing common operations
   * on files, throwing exceptions if an operation fails.
   *
diff --git a/src/Platform.h b/src/Platform.h
index 1838d92..18072b3 100644
--- a/src/Platform.h
+++ b/src/Platform.h
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@
 #ifdef WIN32
  #define PLATFORM_WINDOWS
  #include <windows.h>
+
+ // disable warnings about exception specifications,
+ // which are not implemented in Visual C++
+ #pragma warning(disable:4290)
 #endif
 
 #ifdef __APPLE__
diff --git a/src/UpdateInstaller.cpp b/src/UpdateInstaller.cpp
index 77fa4bc..13d75ba 100644
--- a/src/UpdateInstaller.cpp
+++ b/src/UpdateInstaller.cpp
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ void UpdateInstaller::run() throw ()
 	{
 		updaterPath = ProcessUtils::currentProcessPath();
 	}
-	catch (const FileUtils::IOException& ex)
+	catch (const FileUtils::IOException&)
 	{
 		LOG(Error,"error reading process path with mode " + intToStr(m_mode));
 		reportError("Unable to determine path of updater");